embassy highlights

Municipal Employees Receive Training for Better Efficiency

January 4, 2008

Zahleh – Maallaqa municipal employee takes part in the training...

With funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 24 managers and senior staff representing ten large municipalities participated in a best practices workshop organized by the State University of New York/Center for Legislative Development (SUNY/CLD). The workshop mainly focused on facilitating efficient working relationships among participating institutions. The workshop also explained the Municipal Personnel and Payroll System software application that has been developed under the program. This workshop is part of a series of workshops that help municipalities throughout Lebanon share experiences for better efficiency and to promote the standardization of human resource management.

This initiative falls under the USAID-funded Municipal Governance Assistance Program as part of an initial $17-million grant broadly supporting the establishment of credible and transparent institutions that are able to function more democratically. Under this program, technical assistance is being provided to more than 750 municipalities representing about 80% of the Lebanese population.  Related assistance is being extended to regional government units, municipal unions, and central agencies to encourage functional and legal institutionalization of procedures and processes developed under the program, and to ensure sustainability of reform achievements.